Veteran Seattle PI Tech Reporters Quit Newspaper for New Media
Will Seattle be getting it’s own version of TechCrunch? Well regarded local reporters John Cook and Todd Bishop of the PI and Eric Engleman of the Puget Sound Business Journal are banding together and launching what promises to be the region’s go-to destination for biz-tech coverage.
While not yet launched, Bishop and Cook are no longer with the PI. They sent an email to contacts with some explanation about what was up and how to sign up to hear more about the new site.
“Several reasons drove this decision. Todd and I have been kicking around these ideas for some time now and we found the ideal partner in the PSBJ, which saw the value in building a new online technology news source that catered to the Pacific Northwest tech community,” said Cook.
Cook’s email to contacts:
Subject: Cook, Bishop to launch new Seattle tech site with PSBJ
After more than a decade of covering Seattle area startups, I’ve decided to roll the dice on a new venture myself.
My long-time colleague Todd Bishop and I are joining forces with the Puget Sound Business Journal to create a new online news site.
Our goal is quite simple: to create the leading technology news source in the Pacific Northwest.
I will continue to write my blog on the new site, covering startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital. But the coverage will go much deeper, with Todd offering his award-winning reporting on Microsoft and other large technology companies. I am also happy to announce that Eric Engleman — a veteran technology reporter at the Puget Sound Business Journal who many of you already know — also will be contributing to the site.
Over time, we plan to add new editorial features as well as host events around town.
While it is tough to say goodbye to the P-I, it also was the right time for me to take the entrepreneurial plunge. (Hanging around so many entrepreneurs over the years is a bit contagious.)
I recognize that startups are hard and that most new ventures fail. But I am energized by the opportunity to combine traditional journalism with the world of new media.
Anyway, we are working on the new site and plan to launch in the coming weeks. You can sign up at the temporary site — www.pugetsoundbusinessjournal.com/tech — to get notified of the launch and reserve a spot for daily e-mail news updates once we go live.(I removed contact information. Email me if you’d like John’s email or phone)
Thanks for all your support over the years. Of course, none of this would be possible without you, the readers. So I welcome any feedback, insight or questions you might have as we try to build this new journalistic venture.
We are firm believers that a technology center of Seattle’s stature deserves a truly local news source. So please don’t hesitate to email or call if you have story ideas, Web site features or other elements you would like to see in the site.John Cook
Technology Reporter
Twitter: http://twitter.com/johnhcook
After continuous cuts and staff reductions at the PI, what remains to be seen is what the newspaper does about filling the posiitons. Also interesting is whether this is an isolated incident or whether other reports leave their newspapers to jump into new media.
